"One lost job is one hungry family, and one cold statistic I cannot accept."
President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, in his first State of the Nation Address in 1998, promised to lead the Philippines out of a financial crisis that hit Asia in 1997.
He ordered government spending reduced by 25 percent, military modernization put on hold, and hinted at abolishing pork barrel funds. "In the face of our fiscal position, our people ask no less," he ... more

"One lost job is one hungry family, and one cold statistic I cannot accept."
President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, in his first State of the Nation Address in 1998, promised to lead the Philippines out of a financial crisis that hit Asia in 1997.
He ordered government spending reduced by 25 percent, military modernization put on hold, and hinted at abolishing pork barrel funds. "In the face of our fiscal position, our people ask no less," he said.
But putting military modernization on hold did not mean Estrada did not have military strength. He warned insurgents in his SONA in 1999: "Hindi binebeybi ang rebelyon. Pinipisa. Kaya, huwag n’yo kaming hamunin!" less